Vaal Hazak Guide: Monster Weakness, Carves & Rewards, Armor Sets – Monster Hunter World

After killing Nergigante, you will learn about three Elder Dragons that are now terrorising the various areas of the New World. Since we are monster hunters, it’s our duty to find them and kill them. To do this, you will need to search the Ancient Forest, Wildspire Waste, and the Rotten Vale for clues that will unlock each monster’s mission (similar to what you did with Nergigante). The Elder Dragon you unlock in the Rotten Vale is called Vaal Hazak, and it specializes in using Effluvia (toxic gas) . To help you slay this Elder Dragon, use our Vaal Hazak Guide below.

Vaal Hazak Information

Difficulty: 8⭐

Location: Rotten Vale

Size: Large

Species: Elder Dragon

Weak To:

• Fire 3⭐
• Dragon 3⭐

Breakable/Severable (Weak Points):  Head (weak point), Tail (weak point), Body (weak point), Front Legs

Material (Carves + High Rank Rewards): 

Scale 5⭐ Carapace 4⭐ Talon 3⭐ Wing 3⭐ Fang+ 2⭐ Gem ⭐

Carapace 4⭐ Scale 3⭐ Wing 3⭐ Membrane 3⭐ Talon 3⭐ ED Blood 3⭐ ED Bone 2⭐

Reward Money: 18000 z

Hunting Quest: Hellish Fiend Vaal Hazak

Hunting Quest Text: I’m absolutely positive that the effluvium is controlled by Vaal Hazak. Now to prove my theory once and for all. Go to the vale and seek out Vaal Hazak!

Characteristics: A grotesque elder dragon that inhabits the deepest part of the Rotten Vale. It uses the fatal vapor of the vale in what appears to be a symbiotic relationship.

Useful Information: Once you’ve become tainted, inhaling the vapor of the vale causes your own health to drain. Head for areas where the vapor is thin, and if you do get tainted, do your best to get rid of it.

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Val Hazaak Fight Guide

Main Fight Mechanic: Roar + Effluvia

Roar: Large monsters have the ability to roar. This ability disrupts whatever action the hunter was doing (stun locks you briefly).

Effluvia: Effluvia is the toxic gas you find in Rotten Vale. This gas slowly affects you until it triggers, causing you to lose half of your total health instantly while also gradually decreasing your remaining hp. To cure Effluvia build up, use a Nullberry.

Attacks:

Of all the elder dragons, I find Vaal Hazak to be the easiest. The fight itself largely comes down to managing the Effluvia build up, which is pretty easy if you come into the fight with Nullberrys in your inventory. With that aside, there are only a few attacks your really need to watch out for and I’ll highlight them below.

*I attempted to grab all the attacks I saw. Let me know if I missed some in The Pit.

• Swipe – When near the head can swipe at you with its front claws.
• Tailwhip – When behind Vaal Hazak, the monster can whip its tail at the hunter.
• Charge – Charge towards the hunter/across the arena.
• Effluvia Jet – Shoots a long stream of Effluvia out of mouth towards hunter (the stream moves 180).
• Effluvia Blast – Sucks up all the nearby Effluvia and blasts it out in a large explosion that affects those in close range.

Fight Tips:

Managing the Effluvia build up is the key to winning this fight. Bring along a ton of Nullberrys and healing items to ensure you are prepared. Besides that, Vaal is similar to a lot of dragons you’ve fought up to this point and has similar moves.

• Eat up – Head into the fight having eaten a meal from the Canteen (do this for every fight to make life easier).
• Bring Nullberry and Healing – Make sure you have Nullberry and a lot of healing on you. Going into the fight without them makes it way harder. Add on some Armorskin if your defense is lacking.
• Stand Beside its Head When Shooting Effluvia: When the Vaal Hazak shoots its Effluvia jet, it is exposed for a few seconds. If you can get beside its head, you can deal damage to it while remaining safe.
• Health Booster – Bring along a health booster to this fight to help alleviate healing. Drop it in a safe area and retreat here whenever you are hit with Effluvia effect.
• SOS – If you need to, send out an SOS and get some extra help from the MHW community.

Note: share your tips in the comments and I will add them here.

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Val Hazak α+β Set (Rarity 8)

Armor Requirements:

Human: All Materials are Val Hazak Carves/Drops unless noted.

• Helm – 5x Deceased Scale, 4x Carapace, 4x Talon, 4x Elder Dragon Bone*
• Mail – 5x Carapace, 3x Fang+, 2x Tail, 1x Odogaron Plate*
• Braces – 3x Fang+, 6x Deceased Scale, 2x Membrane, 1x Gem
• Coil – 5x Carapace, 4x Wing, 2x Membrane, 3x Elder Dragon Blood*
• Greaves – 5x Deceased Scale, 4x Carapace, 2x Membrane, 6x Dragonvein Crystal*

Set Bonus:

• 3 Pieces – Vaal Hazak Vitality (Super Recovery): Allows recovery to exceed the red portion of the health gauge.

Palico: All Materials are Vaal Hazak Carves/Drops unless noted.

• Sword – 1x Talon
• Skull – 1x Carapace
• Bones – 1x Membrane

More: Monster Hunter: World monster guides

This concludes our Vaal Hazak guide. Wish to add something? Drop a comment in The Pit below.